Robert McChesney spends the first
half of this book to introduce the major players in the debate over the
implications of the invention of the internet on democracy and capitalism. He first
introduces the two major players in the debate; Celebrants, the more dominant
group who wholeheartedly embrace the internet as a way to spread knowledge and
promote prosperity, and Skeptics, who see that the internet also is a place of
distractions, and can just as easily lead to the spread of ignorance as well as
knowledge. McChesney points out that these two group both fail to recognize
that the internet also has great implications on our notion of democracy, and
the very political and social fabrication of our society.
McChesney asks the question, “does
capitalism equal democracy?” he looks as the history of human society, and
finds that the core foundation that our society is built on is capitalism.
Capitalism and the notion of a free market have been essential in the formation
of democracy, promoting the idea that the common people should have the power. However,
in recent years the evolution of capitalism has begun to clash with that
notion. McChesney exposes the growing power of monopolies, how the government
is allowing them to grow with “monopoly licenses.” These include indefinite
copyrights, subsidies, and zoning laws. These monopolies also have led to
increased de-politicization, where a group of people (usually the on the poorer
end of society) become disinterested in politics, allowing those with higher
economic standing to continue to distance themselves using the political
system. McChesney’s view on moneys dominant effect on society directly opposes
the claim of a moral economy, where business decisions are made due to moral
understanding rather than purely profit based thinking (Jenkins & Ford,
2013, 52) McChesney claims that the internet must be the revolution that ends
this trend toward hyper-commercialism and marginalization to be “worth its
salt.”
McChesney spends a great deal of
time discussing the Political Economy of Communication, which is used to
evaluate how communication systems and media affect political and social power
balances. He points out that it is essential to the democratic system that the indigent
have the power of political control to ensure that all benefit from democracy
and capitalism. The notion of a public sphere, a place where people can gather
to discuss politics free from government interference, is essential to
democracy, and is fulfilled today by the media. The media and the concept of
the public sphere change throughout history via “critical junctures,” or times
of great political, social, and or economic change in a society. McChesney compares
the invention and struggle over the internet to past critical junctures, and
proves that it has manifested into potentially the most important critical
juncture in human history.
McChesney finishes the first half
of the book discussing the effects that increased marginalization due to
monopolies have on society. He shows how large corporations have rewritten laws
regarding copyrights to make them last for more than one hundred years, with
the ability to be extended indefinitely. These policies have created a
copyright arms race, where large corporations purchase copyrights on huge
ranges of intellectual property, thus effectively eliminating smaller companies
that cannot match their spending. He also notes how Journalism has been affected
by media monopolies, yet do not benefit from copyrights, as their material is
outdated very quickly.
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